Fw: Hard Cranks (my crank's history)

["Gary Walker" <NashFlash@xxxxxxxxxx>]

In the sixties I used a hard crank exclusively.  I did not know back then
whether it had been cut or not because it came with the package and I did
not know the difference at the time.  It remained dependable through many
races with little or no maintenance even though I used it in many different
race cars.  As for the question of whether or not to chrome the crank, I say
that if it gets enough oil, the chrome is not necessary and the chrome may
not flex during down time when the crank contracts.  In the seventies, I
settled down with one race car.  She has remained loyal to me all these
years so I have used the hard crank in her only.  The crank did not get used
so much in the eighties what with lots of overtime at work.   I was
frequently just too tired to race and had a lot of headaches.  I really
regretted neglecting my one and only race car through those years and when
the new toys came out in the new millennium, I had to try to get back into
racing again.  There are new tools for vibration to assist the crank etc.
My crank has stood by me for decades and has never let me down.  My paper
work does not show how deep the hardness goes, as one lister asked, but it
seems sufficient to get in there and get the job done.  Lately I worry that
it may not be as good as it once was, but I feel it is as good once as it
ever was.
      Your AMC Friend,
       Gary Walker,
        Owner of some old AMC stuff
         (not junk as my race car says)
P.S.    I hope this helps.          oh, and uh, this is just me but I would
NEVER have it cross drilled.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bruce Hevner" <scramblr@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "AMC AMC" <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>; <kustomkemps@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2005 8:09 AM
Subject: Hard Cranks


> Lynn,
> >Well, I'm glad to see that I have generated some chatter across the
ether.
> Some people think that nitriding is super expensive, but it is not. In
fact,
> we >nitride BY THE POUND, with a 100lb. minimum.
> >Therefore, the more cranks we have in a run, the cheaper it is. Example:
if
> you sent a crank from Ohio to the shop in Portland, Or, and did not have a
> >UPS account, it would run about $170 to ship the crank both ways. (We
> prefer Forward Air) This is more than $100 over the cost of the nitriding.
>
> Well that's certainly a LOT cheaper than it used to be (I haven't checked
in
> years). I think it used to cost about $250-$300 EACH!! Don't get me wrong
> I'm NOT against this process,, I'm FOR it, IF it can be done at a
reasonable
> cost and IF you can guaranty straightness. We were experiencing .002-.004
> bend from end to end. It WILL reduce wear of the crankshaft. In fact I
have
> a 390 crank that was Hard Chromed YEARS ago that I might send you to see
if
> it can be saved. Do you have a hardness tester?? Shoot me some numbers.
>
> >We feel that any crank that might be cut beyond the factory hardness
level
> will be better for the process. (does anyone know what depth the AMC
>cranks
> were hardened to from the factory?
>
> That was my question in the beginning. WHAT IS the hardness level of
factory
> AMC cranks?? I contend (though I can not prove since I have not had one
> tested) that they are no "harder" than any other stock crank. I may be
> wrong,,, but I MAY be right (cue the Billy Joel music!!).
>   It's really pretty easy to get an idea of the hardness of an item,, just
> give it the "file test". While not scientific by any stretch it does give
> you an idea of the general hardness of an item.  A Nitrided item (and I am
> fully aware there are different levels of hardness that can be obtained)
is
> difficult or impossible to file with a common hand file. It will feel like
> you are trying to file a piece of glass!! Just slides right over it. This
> has NOT been the case with ANY of the AMC cranks I have checked.
>  And of the Honda cranks we have turned that WERE nitrided the thickness
was
> less than about .003.
> But hey,,,, that's just ME!!
> Bruce Hevner
>
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